St Brandon Blog: 15 – 25 April 2019
St Brandon Blog: 15 – 25 April 2019
Week 2 of the St Brandon season began with our group experiencing calm conditions and great sunlight which complimented the flats fishing. The atoll lived up to its reputation with a number of special catches coming to hand throughout the duration of the week.
We experienced impressive Bonefishing this week from a numbers perspective, loads of fish were landed with the average being 5lbs. Several larger fish were landed with a few giants getting the better of us! The notable Bonefish catches were completed by Landis, Nate and Dave who all caught large 8lb fish, however the largest of the week was landed by Joe and Mike who both managed to get solid 8.5lb fish to hand. This is a wonderful and promising sign for the weeks to come as we started to see good numbers of larger fish on the flats.
There were once again great numbers of Permit seen on various occasions while we were wading the flats of St Brandon. Our guests enjoyed multiple shots at these finicky fish and managed to land 4 Indo-Pacific Permit in total for the week. Mike fooled his first ever Permit with a spot on back cast late one afternoon; a beautiful specimen of 6lbs. Joe meanwhile enjoyed a fantastic week on the Permit front and landed 3; a 4lb, a 6lb and eventually topping it off with a trophy 11lb fish.
The warmer conditions meant that several large Giant Trevally were encountered on the flats this week. Some of our guests had great shots at GTs, however these fish showed us why they can be so tough to land with only one GT hooked and sadly lost when it ran through a coral garden, resulting in a broken fly line! The big Bluefin Trevally where seen in large numbers this week, especially along the eastern coral edge of the atoll. We managed to get 3 of these beautiful fish to hand with Joe continuing his impressive streak by landing a fish of 65cm and another beast of a fish measuring 78cm!
This brought an end to another stunning week on St Brandon’s Atoll with all of our guests experiencing what makes this atoll so special. We look forward to what next week has in store for us.
The St Brandon FlyCastaway Guide Team
Our guests were treated to a number of shots at GTs this week with just about everyone landing one. Of the 24 fish hooked we only managed to get 10 to hand with the fish of the week caught by angler Aubrey. This absolute behemoth was landed during an offshore session and pulled the measuring tape all the way to 128cm! A true giant and the largest of the season so far
The Bumpies this week proved to be difficult to come by, that said, we were still able to land a decent fish of 90cm, hooked and landed by angler Giles. While wet wading the flats we encountered tailing Triggerfish on a number of occasions and by the end of the week our tally totaled 4 hooked and 2 landed, A mustache Triggerfish each for angler Aubrey and Chris. Farquhar again provided our guests with some decent Bonefishing which resulted in several quality fish landed throughout the duration of the week.
The bluewater fishing this week was excellent with angler Louis and Sophie landing a Sailfish each. This was followed by a couple of impressive Yellowfin tuna and Wahoo which added to the action in the deep blue for our guests. The reef species were active and ready to pick off anything that ventured near the numerous coral heads in the atoll’s many lagoons. Loads of large Grouper were caught, however none were bigger than Stephen’s 85cm African Marbled Coral Grouper. 2 large Napoleon Wrasse were landed by Chris and Aubrey, the largest being 80cm while several lively Bluefin Trevally were also landed during the course of the week.
Day 1 – Our fourth week of the season on Providence Atoll started with full moon neap tides, a slow dropping tide in the morning and a late afternoon push. Mike wasted little time and opened his account in style by landing a monster 102cm GT on his very first cast of the trip! Chase made the most of the numerous GTs seen today and landed 3, while Tim also enjoyed his day and managed to get 2 to hand. We encountered a good number of tailing Triggerfish on the flats today, however Terry was the only successful angler on this front, landing a lively Yellow Margin Triggerfish. The Bumphead Parrotfish were also seen tailing on a number of occasions and eventually after a couple fish that were hooked and lost, two of our guests landed Bumpies for the day, 1 a piece for Bowen and Chase. An eventful start to the week on the flats of Providence that left us excited to see what the rest of the week had in store.
Day 2 – We came across loads of Bumpies today feeding hard and willing to eat a well-presented crab imitation. Well done to Mike – after losing 12 of these fish he finally managed to get the upper hand by not only landing 1 but 2 great fish! Zack also experienced good fortune on the Bumpie front and managed to land his first Bumpie too, well done guys! These slow-moving tides have made it ideal for tailing fish and thus we encountered incredible numbers of Triggerfish, Tim took full advantage of this and landed a colorful Yellow Margin Triggerfish. Despite the slower than usual GT fishing a couple of great catches were still enjoy by our guests; Tim managed to match yesterdays exploits and landed another 2 GTs. Tony had an incredible day by completing a Slam, he landed – a 98cm GT, a Yellow Margin Triggerfish and topped it off with a Bonefish, well done Tony!
Day 3 – The GT fishing really picked up a couple gears today with us coming across a mixture of free-swimming fish, including GTs on sharks and stingrays. Mike Dawes landed 3, Tim landed 5, while Zack landed 4 including his PB; a great fish of 104cm that was caught while it pushed a wake on a turtle grass flat, completely engulfing the fly as soon as it hit the water and then it proceeded to give us a good tussle before coming to hand, congrats! The Bumpies were still around in good numbers with Mike managing to land 1 and Paul landing 2, well done guys. Tony converted his chances with the Triggers yet again and managed to land an awesome Moustache Triggerfish. All in all, it was another great day out on the flats with some fantastic fish coming to hand.
Day 5 – The GTs were around and patrolling the flats and lagoon systems off the north eastern side of the atoll. Some of our guests experienced 60+ fish cruising on the backs of lemon sharks, ready to attack anything that crossed their path. Tim had a great day by landing 4, with his biggest being a fin perfect specimen measuring 100cm. Tony also managed to land a trophy GT today measuring in at 100cm. Paul also got some decent GTs today, landing 2 and a prized Yellow Margin Triggerfish. Finally, Mike had a special day too and managed to add another 4 GTs to his tally for the week. 
On the species front we enjoyed excellent fishing with several Napoleon Wrasse, Bohar Snapper, Marbled Grouper and Camouflage Grouper landed. A special mention for Alexander who landed an 80cm Golden Trevally as well as a 75cm Bonefish, Well done Alexander!
Day 1 – We began the week with an early morning neap high tide, with little water movement experienced the entire day we were able to spend large periods of time on the flats. The fish were seen in good numbers with some decent quality GTs coming to hand; David, who is a first-timer to the Seychelles, hooked 5 GTs but unfortunately lost all of them. Brummy, who has fished with us a few times before, really made the most of his opportunities and managed to land an amazing fish which measured 110cm, well done Brummy! Joern, Tim, Peter and Fred all managed to get one on the board for the day. All in all, a great start to the week and we look forward to what the rest of the week has in store.
Day 4 – Today turned out to be a very special day for Maria as she finally managed to tick the Holy Grail off her list by landing a beautiful 13lb Indo-Pacific Permit. This fish was hooked from a school of roughly 10 fish as they tailed their way across the flats. One cast, a couple of strips and the rest is history. Well done Maria, a truly special fish!
Day 5 – We began day 5 with a slow pushing neap tide and great light. The GTs were everywhere, with fish seen on the turtle grass flats tailing next to stingrays. Peter managed to land yet another 100cm GT, while Jim managed to bag two special fish; one of 90cm and the other coming in at 105cm. All the guests experienced amazing fishing for the day and the sight of big fork tails are stuck in our mind as we reminisce on yet another amazing day of fishing. John also managed to land his first Bumphead Parrotfish which is a great achievement, well done sir. On the blue water front Tim managed to hook and land his first ever Sailfish on fly, great job Tim!
Our Bumpies were seen in good numbers this week and although we had loads of hookups we only managed to land two, John and Yerlan getting one a piece.
Day 1 – The GTs were around in good numbers today with Kelly breaking the ice and landing our first of the season. Ivan, Scott and Kelvin also managed to land their first for the trip, Kelvin’s fish a very special one in that it was his first ever GT on fly. Kyle started his trip off with a bang landing 2 for the day, whilst Ryan had a superb day landing 3 fish. On the species front Scott landed a beautiful Yellow Margin Triggerfish but it was the late afternoon Milkfishing that stole the show. We found large shoals feeding just beneath the surface and not far from the Dugong’s anchorage. Ivan, Ryan and Kelly all capitalized on the action, each of them landing their first ever Milkfish. Well done guys! A great first day of the season and exciting signs for the remaining days of week 1 on Providence Atoll.
Day 2 – We started our day on the flats with a couple hours of a small neap dropping tide, followed later by a slow rising tide at midday. The GTs greeted us in decent numbers with Mike and Dick both landing their first for the trip. Kyle, Kelly, Ryan and Kelvin all landed good quality fish but it was Ivan and Scott who stole the show with two fish each. Well done guys. We experienced some great Bonefishing today with Kelvin’s 22-inch fish the nicest of the bunch. Good numbers of Triggerfish and Bumphead Parrotfish were encountered during periods of the day. However it was the late afternoon Milkfishing that once again grabbed our attention. Multiple hook ups were experienced, sadly however Ryan’s second fish for the week was the only one that made it to the net. The group is clearly having a blast and we are looking forward to what the rest of the week has in store.
Day 3 – We began the day with a good dropping tide in the morning and a solid push in the afternoon. As expected, the GTs continued to present us with great opportunities. Kelly landed a bunch whilst Mike enjoyed a stellar day by getting three to hand. A couple larger fish were encountered today, Scott’s beautiful 99cm fish and Ryan’s 113cm brute rounding off yet another very successful day. The Milkfish continued to provide some really exciting fishing, however we were unable to land the numerous fish that were hooked.
Day 4 – The GT fishing impressed again, providing our guests with numerous opportunities as well as a couple shots at some real giants. The highlights today included Ivan’s 104cm trophy and Kyle’s absolute monster which stretched the tape to 115cm. Congratulations Kyle, certainly a fish of a lifetime! The Milkfish continued to provide exciting late afternoon sessions, Dick showed great composure and landed his 1st ever Milkfish on fly after losing a couple earlier in the week. Congrats Dick!
Day 6 – No changes here and some great fish coming to hand during our 6th day out. A huge congrats to Kelly on an unforgettable fish which measured 109cm and to Kelvin who celebrated his birthday by landing an awesome 104cm fish. Another great day out on the wild flats of Providence Atoll.
